Browsing by Author "Pinkert, Carl A."

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    Early-career faculty perceptions of seeking extramural funding for academic biomedical research
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Mathis, James Michael; Holley, Karri A.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Biomedical research over the last century in the United States has resulted in new drugs, medical procedures, and medical devices that have dramatically increased the health and lifespan of individuals and global populations. However, after decades of growth, the federal appropriation to fund grants for biomedical research has decreased since 2002. Thus, the pressure on early-career faculty to obtain federally funded grants to perform biomedical research has increased due to competition for limited grant resources. Therefore, it was important to understand their perceptions about research funding, and the effect on achieving their career goals. First, a review of the literature was provided. The literature review included studies involving analysis of factors influencing the productivity of early-career faculty and provided a theoretical framework for interpreting the data. Next, an overview of the research methods was provided. The challenges facing early-career faculty were studied through a qualitative examination of their perspectives and experiences. This study used a qualitative case study research design at a single institution. Tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members at the rank of Assistant Professor were selected by purposeful sampling for participation in the study. They were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The interview data were presented as well as the major themes that emerged from the analysis of the data. Finally, a discussion of the data was provided in the context of the literature review and theoretical frameworks. The findings were aligned with three theoretical frameworks that were used to understand the results, namely Self-Determination Theory, Academic Capitalism, and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice. The findings identified the importance of mentoring in learning how to write grants effectively. The findings also revealed that the competition for limited grant dollars has contributed to heightened stress and anxiety among the participants. In conclusion, the findings of this study could provide useful information helpful to both faculty and academic administrators. Because of this study, higher education leaders have useful data that support the importance of an environment that is conducive to successful grant-seeking strategies.
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    Mitochondrial Haplotypes Influence Metabolic Traits in Porcine Transmitochondrial Cybrids
    (Nature Portfolio, 2015) Yu, Guanghui; Xiang, Hai; Tian, Jianhui; Yin, Jingdong; Pinkert, Carl A.; Li, Qiuyan; Zhao, Xingbo; Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs; China Agricultural University; Auburn University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    In farm animals, mitochondrial DNA mutations exist widely across breeds and individuals. In order to identify differences among mtDNA haplotypes, two porcine transmitochondrial cybrids were generated by fusion of a Lantang pig cell line devoid of mitochondrial DNA with enucleated cytoplasm from either a Large White pig or a Xiang pig harboring potentially divergent mitochondrial haplotypes. These cybrid cells were subjected to mitochondrial genome sequencing, copy number detecting and analysis of biochemical traits including succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, ATP content and susceptibility to reactive oxygen species (ROS). The Lantang and Xiang mitochondrial genomes were highly homologous with only 18 polymorphic sites, and differed radically from the Large White with 201 and 198 mutations respectively. The Large White and Xiang cybrids exhibited similar mtDNA copy numbers and different values among biochemical traits, generated greater ROS production (P < 0.05) and less SDH activity (P < 0.05) and a lesser ATP content (P < 0.05). The results show that functional differences exist between cybrid cells which differ in mitochondrial genomic background. In conclusion, transmitochondrial cybrids provide the first direct evidence on pig biochemical traits linking different mitochondrial genome haplotypes.
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    A New Approach to Treating Neurodegenerative Otologic Disorders
    (Mary Ann Liebert, 2018) Moos, Walter H.; Faller, Douglas V.; Glavas, Ioannis P.; Harpp, David N.; Irwin, Michael H.; Kanara, Iphigenia; Pinkert, Carl A.; Powers, Whitney R.; Steliou, Kosta; Vavvas, Demetrios G.; Kodukula, Krishna; University of California San Francisco; Boston University; New York University; McGill University; Auburn University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Harvard University; Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary; Harvard Medical School
    Hearing loss, the most common neurological disorder and the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability, can have profound effects on quality of life. The impact of this invisible disability, with significant consequences, economic and personal, is most substantial in low- and middle-income countries, where >80% of affected people live. Given the importance of hearing for communication, enjoyment, and safety, with up to 500 million affected globally at a cost of nearly $800 billion/year, research on new approaches toward prevention and treatment is attracting increased attention. The consequences of noise pollution are largely preventable, but irreversible hearing loss can result from aging, disease, or drug side effects. Once damage occurs, treatment relies on hearing aids and cochlear implants. Preventing, delaying, or reducing some degree of hearing loss may be possible by avoiding excessive noise and addressing major contributory factors such as cardiovascular risk. However, given the magnitude of the problem, these interventions alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Recent advances in understanding principal mechanisms that govern hearing function, together with new drug discovery paradigms designed to identify efficacious therapies, bode well for pharmaceutical intervention. This review surveys various causes of loss of auditory function and discusses potential neurological underpinnings, including mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria mitigate cell protection, survival, and function and may succumb to cumulative degradation of energy production and performance; the end result is cell death. Energy-demanding neurons and vestibulocochlear hair cells are vulnerable to mitochondrial dysfunction, and hearing impairment and deafness are characteristic of neurodegenerative mitochondrial disease phenotypes. Beyond acting as cellular powerhouses, mitochondria regulate immune responses to infections, and studies of this phenomenon have aided in identifying nuclear factor kappa B and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element signaling as targets for discovery of otologic drugs, respectively, suppressing or upregulating these pathways. Treatment with free radical scavenging antioxidants is one therapeutic approach, with lipoic acid and corresponding carnitine esters exhibiting improved biodistribution and other features showing promise. These compounds are also histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, adding epigenetic modulation to the mechanistic milieu through which they act. These data suggest that new drugs targeting mitochondrial dysfunction and modulating epigenetic pathways via HDAC inhibition or other mechanisms hold great promise.